New season brings new test for Grossman

BOURBONNAIS -- After one day of the football season, the season after the one that almost was, we know precious little more about Rex Grossman than we did on a rainy February eve, as he left Miami a soaked and battered shell of his former self.

Get used to that idea.

It's going to be months, not days or weeks, before you'll have a clue as to whether Grossman can rebound from a horrible second half of 2006.

It won't happen in practice, when Grossman will no doubt look like an all-pro, and not in preseason games, when the Bears will no doubt insist Grossman is headed for the Hall of Fame.

No, it won't be until the regular season, when Grossman is finally pressured and tested by a legitimate NFL defense.

Until then, he'll be tested only by the fans and media, which will pressure him night and day, questioning whether he has the physical or mental gifts necessary to handle life as an NFL starter.

And you have to wonder how he'll handle another season of being picked apart after every move he makes, so it would be inaccurate to suggest the Grossman watch is officially under way again, when it never really ended.

On the day before the first practice, before many players had formally opened camp by carrying armloads of $3,000 TVs, video games, speakers and easy chairs to their dorm rooms, documented for posterity by every TV camera within driving distance, head coach Lovie Smith met with the media.

And thus began the Bears' defense of their NFC title, and, inevitably, their defense of Grossman.

It kicked off in earnest at 2:09 p.m., though Smith felt no need to throw out the first "Rex is our quarterback'' of the 2007 season.

Instead, Smith -- avoiding the sun under a gazebo on the Olivet Nazarene University campus -- praised Grossman for the amount of work he's put in on "fundamentals and technique,'' adding, "Most quarterbacks I've seen make a big improvement in their second year as starters.''

That seems to be what everyone in Bears camp is banking on, that Grossman will have an epiphany, and that the position will become second nature to him.

That is a reasonable hope, and their logic is sound, but their patience, you sense, is not endless or foolish anymore.

Grossman will get plenty of rope again, but Smith believes he's got a team capable of winning the Super Bowl, and if he must remove Grossman from "the starting rotation,'' you also get the feeling he won't give him another full season to figure it out.

By the time he wanted to see Brian Griese last year, it was too late to make a change, and Grossman was the only option.

The Bears are saying that Grossman will be better after an off-season of hard work and repetition, and we learned Thursday that the QB spent many a week being drilled in footwork and mechanics related to specific areas of the offense -- even taking the snap, which became a moist issue in Super Bowl XLI.

It's just a little hard to believe that after four years at Florida and four more in Chicago, Grossman is still learning the basics.

But that's great, because Grossman probably won't throw a ball up for grabs off his back foot until a real game, when there's real pressure, from a really big linebacker threatening Grossman's livelihood.

And then, who knows?

"I'm excited about getting it started,'' Grossman said. "I think everyone's excited about getting our (NFC title) rings tonight, but we have one more step to take.''

That theme -- taking it to the next level -- was echoed by many, including Smith, who insisted this would be better than any previous camps, with no distractions, issues or controversies heading into the first practice.

"This is different,'' Smith said. "It seems like every year I've been up here talking with you and something has been (going on) not related to guys on the football field. This is new and I like it a lot.''

Now that Lance Briggs is signed, Smith needled, "I don't know what you guys are going to write about.''

The razor-thin Sharpie wasn't dry on the notepad when defensive lineman Alex Brown stomped all over Smith's utopian theme, not to mention his depth chart that lists Brown behind Mark Anderson and Adewale Ogunleye.

"I feel like I am a starter,'' Brown said, hardly disguising his disgust. "I don't feel like I'm a third defensive end on any team. I guess I am on this team.''

So for at least a few hours, Smith -- always the wizard with a way -- took the focus off Grossman and put it, well, anywhere but on Grossman's mechanics.

Soon enough, it will be right back there, and I hope he succeeds. It would be quite the story of redemption, and a solid move toward another NFC title if it occurred.

If it's not to be, then a move is better sooner than later.

But on this day, Rexology 101 was dismissed early.

Don't be late for class today.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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